H-P CEO Apotheker Could Walk Away With $35 Million

That’s what Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Leo Apotheker could walk away with, if he is forced out by directors of the Palo Alto, Calif., tech giant, according to calculations by The Wall Street Journal.

Associated Press

Hewlett Packard CEO Leo Apotheker

Under terms of the contract he signed less than a year ago, in September 2010, Mr. Apotheker would be eligible for severance payment of $7.2 million, equal to twice his annual $1.2 million salary and twice his annual $2.4 million target bonus.

Mr. Apotheker would also be able to keep 783,000 shares of previously restricted stock, valued at roughly $18.8 million, that otherwise would not fully vest until 2013. The total number of shares for these awards could change, depending on H-P’s financial and stock performance for the period through October 2013.

To those payments, add the nearly $10 million Mr. Apotheker has already received from H-P: a $4 million signing bonus, $4.6 million in relocation benefits, and roughly $1.1 million in salary since starting work Nov. 1, 2010.